


Rebel Red

by orphan_account



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: 1999 AU, F/F, Lesbian Character, Lesbian Relationship, Slow Burn, cuz im gay, or at least im gonna try for one, wlw
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-16
Updated: 2018-11-07
Packaged: 2019-08-03 00:15:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 8,423
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16315409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Max Mayfield fears the end of the world.





	1. Madmax's Drunken Misadventures

Max’s stomach lurched again. Mike was behind her, cramped into the small upstairs bathroom, holding her hair back as she vomited a mixture of beer, vodka, and various party snacks. The sound of rap music echoed through the walls and could be faintly heard under the sound of Max coughing up her stomach.

“I told you it would be a bad idea to come to this,” Mike said, “We’re only sixteen, you shouldn’t be drinking.”

Max turned her head back to the boy behind her. “I already figured that one out, genius.” She went quiet for a moment. “I just needed to get out of the house, and this was the only thing going on that didn’t involve a bunch of children running around in costumes. Besides, the world is ending in a few months, might as well live, right?”

Mike rubbed her back before a knock could be heard at the door. “Mike, Max, are you guys in there?” Will’s voice could be heard from the other side. Mike reached over to the door to unlock it, and Will opened it, greeted by Max in a near complete Jughead costume, the hat on the floor behind her, and Mike in his regular clothes.

“My mom is sitting out front, she can drive you back to Mike’s place. Is that okay?” Will yelled over the music. Max nodded her head, and slowly stood up, grabbing the hat from the floor and putting it back on her head. Mike and Will walked her down the stairs, and she got into Joyce’s car before Joyce drove off.

 

* * * * *

 

“Why were you at that party??” Joyce probed, glancing over at Max in the passenger’s seat.

“Neil is a bitch and I needed to relieve some tension.” Max mumbled, still nauseous from the alcohol.

“Oh, ok. Yeah I understand.” Joyce replied. “You can crash at our place tonight if you want, but don’t go puking on the floor!”

Max dropped her head against the window, watching the blurry lights pass by as they drove back to Mike’s house. Mike was behind them, driving his car with Will. She imagined what they were talking about, if they were sitting in silence or laughing at the sight of their friend hunched over a toilet at the first ever party she’d been to.

“Thank you, Joyce.” Max mumbled into the window.

“Don’t mention it. You know I’m here for you, when your stupid father isn’t.” Joyce replied, rubbing Max’s shoulder. Max smiled.

The two cars pulled into the driveway of the Wheeler household. Joyce went in the front, while Max and the boys went around the back. Max was greeted by the soft hug of Dustin, followed by Lucas piling into a group hug. The two backed away, and El got up from off the couch to get her own hug. Mike and Will entered the room, closing the door behind them. Max plopped down onto one of the couches in the basement. People were speaking to her, but she drowned it all out until everything stopped spinning for more than three seconds.

Her vision faded back into clarity, and a sideways El morphed into view.

“Why is everything sideways?” Max groaned, as the sound of existence loudly assaulted her ears again. Everyone looked over at her, save for Dustin and Lucas who were fighting vehemently over Super Smash Bros.

“You’re on your side, on the couch,” Will chuckled. Max glanced down, or her perception of down, at her body on the couch.

“I’m still kinda wasted, ignore me.” She hadn’t realized it, but her eyes were still on the curly-haired brunette in overalls on the other couch. El made eye-contact, and began blushing.

“Max, why are you staring at me?” She asked. Max blinked a few times, as if she was trying to reboot her brain.

“Hm?”

“You were staring, wastoid.” Lucas blurted.

“I probably zoned out, and you happened to be directly in front of me. Again, wasted,” she answered. “Sorry.”

El looked worried. “No no! It’s fine.”

Max sat up, and reached down to grab a controller off the floor and plugged it into the system. “I wonder if drunk me can still destroy your asses.”

Lucas and Dustin looked over at her. “Are you sure? I’ve never… drank? Drunk? Whatever. I’ve never had alcohol in my system, but I’m sure with the nausea that the TV lights aren’t gonna do wonders for you,” Lucas said concernedly.

“I’ll be fine, people in bars watch football games, I’m sure this isn’t much different,” Max jabbed back. “Besides, I’m tired of sitting here being a lump. You’ll use this against me, so I need to decimate you to make sure you don’t think you’re better than me,” She boasted.

“Is that a challenge, Madmax?” Dustin questioned. He quickly quit out of the current match they were in. “We accept.”

Max almost instantly selected Pikachu. Dustin and Lucas locked in as Fox and Samus respectively. Max hit start, and the match began.

Hyrule Castle appeared on screen, with Samus exiting her teleport chamber thing (none of them had any clue what it was), Fox dropping out of his ship, and finally Pikachu spawning out of a pokeball. The announcer counted down “3, 2, 1, Go!” Max mashed the B button and launched out two Electro balls. One of them hit Lucas, freezing Samus in place briefly. She turned around to attack Fox, grabbing him and throwing him up into the air before using Thunder and pulling him right back down. Lucas had been charging up a shot and fired it at Pikachu, knocking him back.

The match continued until Max had won with one stock left and 200%. She leaned back in victorious relief. “Drunk me still got it,” She said.

The three that had not been playing applauded her, El coming back downstairs with popcorn she left to make as the match started. “Who won?” She asked as she sat down next to Max.

“This bitch!!” Max yelled out, shooting her arms up in the air. El giggled softly.

“Alright, well, we should watch a movie,” Will suggested. Max didn’t mind the idea. The group argued over what movie to watch, but eventually decided on Monster Squad. It was halloween, after all. Mike inserted the VHS tape into the player, and switched the inputs on the TV. Lucas hit the lights, before sitting next to Dustin.

Max fell asleep during the movie, her head resting on El.


	2. Spiral

Max woke up somewhere unfamiliar. Well, for her hungover mind, it was unfamiliar, but ACTUALLY it was the living room couch of the Byers residence. She rolled over and gracefully flopped onto the carpeted floor. “Ow,” she groaned. She decided this would be a nice spot to ponder the previous night. She recalled being at the party, drinking too much and vomiting a lot, being driven to Mike’s place, and-  
She began blushing excessively, and she couldn’t quite pinpoint why. She remembered snuggling with El and falling asleep on her.  
Will walked into the living room to the view of Max lying face-down on the floor with her ass in the air, and turned right back around. “What the hell is she doing?” he mumbled as he walked away.  
Max fell over onto her side, and got up from the floor. She attempted to walk normally into the kitchen, but the air around her ankles was very solid somehow, and she kept almost tripping over nothing and face-planting. Will came into the kitchen to witness the short girl attempting to climb onto the counters to grab a bowl for cereal. He also witnessed her fall flat on her ass onto the tiled kitchen floor.  
“Do you need help?” Will asked, concerned. Max sadly nodded, getting up as the taller boy reached for a bowl from the top shelf. She grabbed a random cereal from the cupboard below, and poured herself a bowl.   
“Why were you at that party last night?”  
Max sighed. “Neil was being a bitch, as I told your mom. I just needed to get away.”  
“No I got that part, I’ve met him,” he said. “I meant… why didn’t you come to Mike’s house with the rest of us?”  
Max shrugged. “I don’t know, I guess I just wanted to relieve stress with a new experience. Teenage angst, and all that.” She took a bite of her cereal. Will sat down across from her, holding his own bowl.   
“Well, you know I, as well as the rest of the party, are here for you.” He smiled, and Max smiled back.  
El walked into the kitchen, her hair an absolute mess. Her faint “good morninggggg” made Max blush slightly, and unknowingly.  
“Hey, sleepyhead,” Max said to the girl behind her.   
“Good morning,” Will waved.   
El sat down at the table with Max and Will, with her own bowl of cereal. “So… two months left.”  
Max tilted her head at the girl in confusion. “Two months till what?” she asked.  
“Two months until Year 2000,” El confirmed. “You know, when all the computers shut down because they weren’t programmed past 1999, and all the nuclear power plants explode and stuff. Basically the apocalypse in North America.”  
“There’s absolutely no way that’s true,” Max retorted. El frowned at her, but that only made her laugh, which then made her grab her head in pain from being hungover.  
“I thought it was just the end of the world, like everything would just kinda… stop,” Will added. El shrugged.   
“Maybe it is. Who knows.”  
Max started to consider the possibilities. The room went silent as everyone ate their breakfast. She wasn’t one to be superstitious, but the paranormal was always something she didn’t mess with. The universe has its rules, and she never questioned them. If the universe decided this would be the apocalypse, she wouldn’t know. It had to be a hoax. Right?  
She needed to pee.  
“I need to pee,” she said.  
She lied. She needed to vomit into the toilet, and also spiral a lot.

* * * * *

Max wandered towards the bathroom, quickly closing and locking the door. She threw the lid and toilet seat up and ponytailed her hair as she began throwing up into the bowl. She had flashbacks of Mike holding her hair back at the party the previous night. She coerced him into driving her there, and she felt awful for it. The hangover experience she guessed was karma, and she just accepted it as her stomach continued emptying itself.  
Her mind was racing through everything as she considered the apocalypse. Everything was moving a mile a minute as she thought about her own and her friends’ demise. Safe to say, she was absolutely terrified.   
She finally finished vomiting and slumped over, back to the wall behind her. She flushed the toilet with her foot, and began to cry.  
El knocked on the door.  
“Hey Max? You okay in there...? You didn’t fall in, did you?” She didn’t answer. “Okay, can you at least make a sound so we know you’re alive and conscious?” She didn’t answer. “Okay, I’m picking the lock,” she said, presumably to Will.   
The doorknob clicked a few times before slowly opening. Max made brief eye-contact with El, and El rushed over to hug her.   
She hugged back tighter than she’d hugged any other person.  
“It’s okay,” El whispered. Will crouched next to the two, waiting for an opportunity to help Max up. 

* * * * *

Max would safely define herself as dead inside right about now. She was sucking on a spoon with ice cream on her lap and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off on the TV, with El and Will on the couch on either side of her. Nobody wanted to say anything about earlier. Max desperately wanted to, but decided it would be best if she didn’t.   
Another knock on the door made her jump. El stood up to go open the door, allowing Mike and Lucas into the house.  
“Hey guys,” Mike said, softly. Max stood up to hug him, before also hugging Lucas.   
“Where’s Dustin?” Will asked.  
“He caught a wicked flu from staying up last night.” Lucas said over Max’s shoulder. He released her from the hug, sniffling his nose.  
Max sat back down, the new two sitting on the other sofa. “So Max,” Mike said, “I talked to my mom and dad, and they agreed you could stay in the basement for a little bit until everything with your dad blows over.”  
“Are they willing to take rent? Because I have no intent to go home any time soon,” Max returned. Her eyes began to sting as she wiped any new tears away, rubbing against the red rings around them.   
“We’ll have to talk about that later, but they’ve agreed to house you for a little bit until you find a more… permanent solution,” Mike stated. This wasn’t the first time Max had to leave home for a period of time. Her dad ended up going on business trips an awful lot, so she didn’t have to run often, but when he did come home…  
She pulled down her sleeves as she thought about it.  
“Thank you, Mike.” She whispered.  
“Anytime. You’re a member of the party, and law states we have each other’s back. No matter what.”


	3. Basement Blues

“Alright, we’ve set up a bed for you downstairs. If you need anything, just let us know,” Mrs Wheeler told Max upon her entry into the home. 

“Thanks,” Max mumbled in return. She had never really gotten to know the Wheeler parents, and always considered them a little bit sketchy. She just felt like they wouldn’t like her for whatever reason. The fact that they let her stay is a miracle she still couldn’t believe. 

The group followed Max down the stairs to check out her new domain. Lucas had gone to check up on Dustin, leaving just Will, Mike, and El. Max idly tugged at her sleeve in nervousness. A pullout couch had been added to the room, lodged in the corner. It had some pillows and a blanket tidily placed to look nice.

For the first time in a few days, she had smiled. 

“It’s not much, but I hope it’s good enough,” Mike said behind her. She turned around and hugged him.

“Thank you so much again,” she mumbled into his ear. She pulled away. “Now, for video games.” 

Max grabbed a controller and popped in Mario Party 3. Mike and Will sat on the smaller couch, and Max and El sat on the bigger one. Max selected Peach, and El, Will, and Mike selected Yoshi, Waluigi, and Luigi respectively. 

 

* * * * *

 

They played for a few hours, but a knock on the front door cut their gameplay short. Mike ran upstairs to answer the door, being greeted by Joyce Byers.

“Hey Mike, I’m here to pick up Will and El. May I come in?” She said sweetly. Mike stepped out of the way and gestured for her to enter. Karen came down the stairs and began a conversation with Joyce as Mike ran downstairs again.

“Alright, Will’s mom is here. We still have another hour or so because she started talking with my mom,” he said as he plomped back down. 

“My mom definitely won’t be taking long, Knuckles will tear into our couches if she does,” Will informed. He and El both stood up and walked over to Max. Max stood up and reached out her arms to draw him into an embrace. He patted her back, and hugged tightly. “See ya later, Madmax.” He released her and went up the stairs. 

El was a solid 4 inches taller than Max, so when she spread her arms, Max went up on her toes to wrap her own arms around El’s neck. El’s hugs were always the best. Plus, Max thought she smelled nice. They stood there for a second, before El let Max go.

“Goodnight, Max. Sleep well,” she said, softly and reassuringly. She walked up the stairs after Will, leaving Max to go set up her bed.

Mike waved goodbye to the two before turning to Max. “You sure you’re gonna be okay?” He asked.

“Yeah, I always end up being okay. This time isn’t any different. Thank you.” She replied. Mike continued playing video games as the sound of Joyce driving off faded into the distance. Max finished setting up her bed and sat down next to Mike. She watched him play Ocarina of Time for a while, before he inevitably offered her a turn. She took the offer.

 

* * * * *

 

Max had become tight knit with Mike after they first met. Early on, Mike didn’t like Max. The feeling was mutual. But over time, after El returned from her summer break in Hawaii, and Max briefly dated Lucas, they warmed up to each other. Soon, they became incredibly close. Max appreciated Mike’s company a lot, and although he didn’t say it, she knew Mike thought the same.

Having Mike sitting next to her sipping on hot chocolate while she played video games (with her own hot chocolate, of course) was definitely something she enjoyed.

Karen came down and called Mike, saying he had fifteen more minutes. He yelled back a confirmation, and in the process almost blew out Max’s eardrums.

“Jeez, time flies,” he uttered.

“Yeah, I know what you mean. Feels like two days ago you broke my skateboard because I came to the arcade with the party,” she returned.

“Feels like two days ago you kicked me in the nuts for it,” he retorted. They both laughed, followed by a short silence falling over the two of them, with the only sound being the Link’s shouts and the music from the video game. “I should probably go upstairs. Y’know, get ready for bed and stuff.” 

“Yeah, that seems like a good idea. I should do the same,” she said. She turned the TV off, it sizzling like a freshly poured glass of Pepsi, before she changed into some pyjamas El had leant her. She grabbed her stuffed rabbit, and crawled into bed.


	4. An Emotional Breakfast

The sound of birds chirping rang outside on this morning. Max was in the kitchen cooking herself (and the rest of the Wheelers) breakfast. The other residents of the house had yet to wake up, so the only sounds resonating through the home were the sizzling of the frying pan as she cooked fried eggs and bacon, and the coffee maker. 

The sound of footsteps thumping down the stairs alerted her, and she turned around to see who it was.

“Why are you cooking at…” Nancy paused to glance over at the clock, “like, seven in the morning?” Her hair was done up in a lazy bun and she was wearing some bog-standard blue pyjamas.

“I was hungry, and I wanted to eat breakfast. I thought I might as well make some for everyone if I’m going to dirty dishes in the process,” she answered. Her own hair was also in a messy bun, but she was wearing a slightly too large t-shirt, pyjama pants that were also a little big, and a red bathrobe. All of which smelled of whatever El used for laundry detergent. Or maybe it was just El herself. “It’s almost ready, if you want to wake anyone up.”

Nancy trekked up the stairs dramatically to knock on Mike’s door, and then went down the hall to wake her parents. Max could hear the faint “Max made breakfast, come eat it,” before Nancy returned. She smiled to herself. Max had enjoyed cooking for a long time, and she wanted to give back to the Wheelers for allowing her to stay.

Karen and Ted were practically sprinting for how early it was when they came into the kitchen. “Nancy, you said Mike made breakfast,” Karen jabbed.

“MAX. I said MAX,” Nancy retorted.

The two adults took a seat at the table as Mike came down the stairs himself. “Good morning, Max. Sleep well?” He asked. Max turned around so fast she almost gave herself whiplash.

“Yeah, that’s probably the nicest thing you’ve said to me since we met, are you okay?” Her voice reeked of confusion.

“Well, I’m just being a good host.” The boy practically bounced over to the table. Max was tempted to go upstairs and find out what he was doing on his computer last night, but she restrained herself, instead putting the eggs she had made on plates, adding waffles and bacon. She made two trips to the table, before returning to the kitchen.

“Anyone want coffee?” She yelled into the room.

“Yeah, I’ll take mine black,” Ted yelled back.

Max returned with two coffees (one black, one that was practically half milk) and her plate, and sat down beside Mike.

“How’d you sleep, Max?” Karen asked as Max took a bite of her waffle. She waited a moment to swallow before answering.

“I slept alright, thank you for asking,” she lied. She hardly slept the previous night. She had nightmares about Neil, and nightmares about the nearing possible apocalypse.

The only reason she made breakfast was because she was tired of sitting in the dark trying to fall asleep.

“Well, that’s good to hear. Thank you for making us breakfast, by the way,” Karen replied.

“Yeah, this is absolutely delicious, I didn’t know you could cook!” Nancy chimed in.

“I’ve been cooking for myself for a while, I’m surprised you didn’t know. I’m glad you enjoy it.” She could tell her voice sounded dim, but was hoping nobody would pick up on it. She could feel her eyes trying to lock shut, but she intently resisted as she sipped her coffee.

 

* * * * *

 

Everyone piled their dishes onto the counter, and Mike offered to wash them. Max took the opportunity to wander back downstairs, but Mike called her back into the kitchen.

“What do you want?” She jabbed. “... sorry, I didn’t actually sleep that well last night, I’m super tired. What’s up?”

“I was gonna ask if you were okay, cuz you sounded glum earlier, but I guess I found my answer. By the way, everyone’s coming over for D&D at around 10, so don’t go passing out before then.” He turned back to the dishes, silently dismissing Max from listening so she could go back downstairs and totally crash.

She walked downstairs and saw El quietly closing the back door, trying so hard to be sneaky. Max smirked, as she snuck up on El tiptoeing away from the door as if she was in a movie. 

“What are you doing?” Max asked quietly. El jumped and nearly screamed, turning around and accidentally whacking Max across the face.

“Holy shit!! I’m so sorry!!” She grabbed Max and pulled her into an apologetic hug, before releasing her.

“What are you doing here?” Max quickly forgave El, chalking up the red marking on her cheek to karma.

“I was worried about you, so I wanted to be the first here to just sorta… check up on you. I don’t know, it sounds stupid…” she mumbled.

“No no!!! It’s cool, I was just surprised to see you sneaking in.”

El turned towards the bed in the corner of the room. “I thought you were still asleep, it is before 8am.”

Max scowled. “Why wouldn’t I be up before 8am?! I’m not that lazy!!” Max held a faux angry expression, but eventually her and El’s expression both turned to smiles holding back laughter. El pulled Max into another hug, but this one was filled with more compassion and empathy than penitence. Max held El tightly, burying her face in the taller girl’s shoulder. 

“Everything is okay.” El didn’t even need to ask what was wrong, they had spent enough time together that El can just tell based on the small details of how she acts. Of course, Max’s hug was not a small detail, it was clearly a hug she needed. But El still knew what to say without even asking.

Max loved that about her.

 


	5. Dreams of Self Destruction

“Hey Max, can you come here for a minute?” Will asked.

The party had all arrived and were setting up for D&D. Will was about to go upstairs to grab something to drink before he called for Max.

“Yep! Just a second,” she replied, voice strained from moving the heavy table into the middle of the room with Dustin. She dropped the table down with a heavy exhale, and followed Will up the stairs, taking the steps by two. 

She reached the top of the steps, just as Will was pulling a can of Root Beer out of the fridge. He gestured for her to close the door, to which she obliged.

“Everything alright?” She asked.

“Have you ever felt… wrong?” He looked stressed, but still calm. 

“Wrong? Howso?” Max was concerned why Will would go to her instead of anyone else. Then she remembered that Lucas and Dustin are shit at keeping secrets, meaning it’s either something to do with El or Mike.

“Like… I feel like I’m not really… into girls, so to speak.” He refuted eye contact.

“I mean, every so often I feel like I could never like a guy, because they’re gross and such, so… I assume everyone feels that kinda way, at least a little bit.” Max had no idea how to reply to what he was saying.

“No, but it’s constant, like I don’t find girls attractive the same way other guys do, but at the same time I look at… I look at boys and I…” He trailed off, leaving Max to infer the rest of his sentence. She pulled him into a hug, and rubbed his back.

“Listen, that’s completely okay. You’re not broken or wrong for being gay, if that’s who you are. Some people think it’s bad to be, but it’s not. You love who you love and… that’s not anyone else’s business.” Max considered the words she was saying, and briefly recalled the hug she had earlier with El. ‘Am I…’ she thought, before Will spoke again.

“Thank you so much.” He pulled away, and began walking downstairs. Max held back a moment.

‘Am I… no, I can’t be, I dated Lucas…’ she muttered to herself. She shook her head and dismissed the thought, grabbing herself a Root Beer and returning downstairs.

 

* * * * *

 

They played D&D for a few hours before deciding to take a break so everyone’s spines didn’t collapse into bone dust from sitting in uncomfortable chairs for too long. Even though Max was focused on the game, she still couldn’t get rid of her earworm. She glanced over at El, who was talking to Dustin and just laughed at one of his jokes. Her smile was beautiful.

Max began to blush.

“HOT CHOCOLATE!!!!!” Mike’s booming voice rang out as he marched down the stairs holding a tray of hot chocolate. Max’s trance was broken. She could see Will’s face turn a soft shade of pink across the room.

Everyone gathered around Mike to grab their mug, before sitting back down at the table. Max made the mistake of sitting across from El, considering her newly found crush on the girl, she had to resist spending every second looking at her.

Of course, that didn’t fully happen.

Max ended up taking many glances, but never stopped to stare. She wouldn’t take her own advice. Even if she told Will it wasn’t wrong, and it was okay, she still wouldn’t admit that to herself. She was consumed by guilt as much as infatuation.

 

* * * * *

 

Everyone had gone home. Max sat intently focused on the game she was playing, trying to avoid breaking down. Everything was collapsing in her mind; her fear of the apocalypse loomed, Neil’s presence in Hawkins had her on edge almost constantly, and while El made her feel happy, she also was terrified of acting on it. El was the only other girl in the group, and her friendship wasn’t worth sacrificing based on some stupid crush.

No matter how badly she wanted to do it.

One second she was playing the game, the next she was skating faster than she could comprehend. She didn’t know where she was going, but tears were streaming down her face and her mind was racing faster than her board. She heard the sound of a car behind her. She didn’t even turn to see the car, she just kept racing. 

Then her wheels halted, her board stopped dead in the pothole on the side of the road, and she slid across the rough asphalt. She didn’t even get up when she stopped. She just lied there, bleeding through her hoodie and ripped jeans. The aforementioned car pulled over across the road from her, Mike and Nancy racing out to check on her. 

“Holy shit...” Nancy shouted. Max didn’t reply, only blinking away a tear. Mike hoisted her up and helped her into the backseat of the car, Nancy grabbing her board and dropping it in the trunk, before performing a very illegal U-turn and racing back home.

“What the hell were you doing??” Mike yelled from the front. “Why were you out here? You left without saying anything, and we freaked out! Thank god Lucas saw you racing by his place, or you would have had to-” Nancy stopped him. 

“She’s bawling her eyes out, Mike. Something’s going on, you should just leave her alone,” Nancy whispered. Max could hear Mike’s hands tighten around the leather of the steering wheel.

“Sorry,” he said, calmer. “I’m just worried about you, and… You kinda freaked us out.” Max refuted response. Part of her wished they had just left her on the side of the road. 

“Thank you,” she said, “for coming after me.” Her voice was raspy and weak. It hurt for her to speak, but she still felt like she should thank them. 

Mike pulled into the driveway. He and Nancy rushed Max into the house. Nancy ran upstairs to get the first aid kit from the bathroom as Mike sat her down in the dining room. He rushed over to the sink to get a wet towel to clean up all her wounds. She pulled her sweater and shirt off, revealing nasty scrapes on her waist, elbow, and hand. She pulled up her pant leg to reveal another wound on her knee. Instead of tending to any of those, Mike dabbed at her temple, cleaning away blood that had somehow not dripped into Max’s eye. She winced slightly at the stinging. Nobody said anything until Max was fully bandaged up. 

“There, all better. Mostly.” Mike said. Max grabbed at her bloody shirt to put it back on, but Nancy grabbed it from her hands. “No, I’m gonna wash up these clothes, because they’re covered in blood. Go put on some clean clothes downstairs.”

Max was completely indifferent to wandering the house in her bra. She did not care at all. All she wanted to do was fall asleep and never wake up again. As she got downstairs, she just pulled off her jeans and crawled under the blankets of her makeshift bed. She curled into a ball, clutching her rabbit to her chest tightly, before falling asleep.


	6. Interruptions

School had returned to session after two consecutive pro-d days; one on Monday for everyone to recover from Halloween, and a second on the Tuesday for actual work to be done from staff. Now it was Wednesday, and Max did not want to be anywhere near the school in this moment. 

Max quickly opened her locker, and stuffed her bag inside, followed by her skateboard. Her dad was leaving early in the morning that day, so she would be safe to go home. She still dreaded the idea, but she was looking forward to having her own bed back, as well as a door that locked. 

“Hey Maxie,” El chirped, thumping against the wall of lockers beside the redhead. Max jumped and made a slight squeak in fear, before smacking El with her books.

“Don’t do that! You scared me…” she yelled. The two girls giggled.

Max locked her locker and began walking to join up with the rest of the party before class started.

“So… how’s your uh… everything?” El asked.

“Awful. It could be worse, but I do get to sit out of PE for a while,” she replied, almost deadpan. “Wait, how did you know?”

“I was talking on the phone with Mike at the time you ran off.”

“Oh, ok.” Max frowned slightly.

“Actually… what did happen? Why did you run off?” El asked. Max slowed her step as she recalled the prior night’s events. She turned sharply walked quickly towards the women’s washroom, El following behind her. “Wait, Max!” Max pushed open the door, not stopping to hold it open. She pulled herself up onto the counter, pulling her knees up to her chest. El entered just after. “What’s going on?” She asked. 

Max could tell she was worried. “I just… I freaked out again. Like at Will’s. I have no idea where I was going, but I just needed to go somewhere.” Her voice sounded as though there should be tears, but she wasn’t crying.

“What freaked you out?” El asked.

“I’m just scared, you know? Of Neil, and of the whole Y2K thing, and…” She stopped herself.

“And?”

“And I think about it and I just start spiralling. I see Neil taking me away, I see all of you guys dying, and it just… it terrifies me.” Max still wasn’t crying.

“Hey, it’s okay to be scared.” El put her hand on Max’s shoulder. “It’s okay to be afraid of things, because we all are. And if you’re ever feeling afraid again, you can call me. I’m here for you, okay?”

Max let her legs go, and hopped down from the counter. El pulled her into a hug, letting Max rest her head on her shoulder. It didn’t make everything better, but Max felt a little bit safer, and she didn’t feel alone.

 

* * * * *

 

Max and El joined up with the rest of the group, after Max had a bit to calm down. Max would have had her locker with the rest of theirs, but by the time she got around to getting a locker, all the ones around theirs were taken.

“What took you guys so long?” Dustin asked the two girls.

“None of your business,” Max said.

“Jeez, alright,” Dustin replied.

They sat down and joined in on whatever conversation was already going on. Max avoided talking too much, mostly because her mind kept gravitating to El, and she didn’t want to say anything incriminating. 

She recalled what she said to Will when he told her he thought he liked boys.

There was a very strong force begging her to just say ‘fuck it’ and tell the group. It would make the weight on her chest immensely lighter, no matter the outcome. But at the same time, she might lose her friends.

‘Fuck it.’ she thought.

“Hey, I-” she was interrupted by the bell for first period. Internally, she screamed at herself and at the universe. She also may have audibly groaned. 

The group got up and started walking to their first period classes, which conveniently were all in opposite directions of each other. Lucas and Dustin both had a spare, so they had to go to the library. Mike and El took different sciences so they both had to walk to the science wing, leaving Max and Will walking to their Math class.

As Max was walking away she thought she saw El blushing at something Mike said.

“Hey, what were you going to say earlier?” Will asked as they walked. Max snapped back out of her mild trance and into reality. 

“Oh, it’s nothing. It doesn’t matter.” It did matter.

“Oh, okay, well if you need to talk then you know we’re all here for you. Party law, y’know?” He said. 

“Yeah, thanks.”

 

* * * * *

 

School was insufferable. Max spent every second waiting for it to end so she could go home and rot for a bit. She had some magazines she may or may not have stolen from a gas station on her way to school that morning that she needed to read.

Of course, king of perfectly imperfect timing Dustin Henderson called her home just as she arrived.

“What’s up? I just got home.”

“Well you need to get to Mike’s house immediately! Hurry!” Dustin hung up after that. 

“Are you actually kidding me?” Max mumbled. She tossed her bag in her room before running right back out the door, and skating back over to the Wheeler household.


	7. Young and Sweet

“Surprise!!!”

Max opened the back door to the Wheeler house and let herself in, and was given a minor heart attack as she did so. 

“What is this about?” She was grinning a bit, quite confused. 

Mike replied, “Oh, well, since yesterday you were here, it was hard to set it up, but I have a spare last two periods so-”

“Spit it out!!” Max yelled.

“God, you’re a dumbass, yesterday was your birthday!” El said. Max was taken aback. She didn’t want to admit but considering the heavy emotions over the past few days, she forgot about her birthday.

“Why did none of you say anything yesterday?” Max asked.

“Since you were staying here, we wanted to wait until there was an opportunity to actually set it up while you weren’t going to be here.” Lucas gestured to the room around them. There were rainbow streamers lining the walls, colorful fairy lights hanging from the ceiling, and a few balloons in each corner of the room. Max’s jaw dropped.

“Holy shit, thank you guys so much!” She hugged El, and everyone crowded around her and formed a group hug. Max’s smile was the widest it had been in days.

Everyone pulled away from the hug, and Max was escorted to sit down on one of three sofas. Dustin and Lucas were on their own couch, Mike and Will on another, and Max and El on the third. 

“Okay, so the plans for tonight aren’t just going to be sitting around doing nothing,” Dustin said. “Tonight, we’ll be splitting off into three teams, and going to the arcade, and whichever team gets the highest total scores in an hour wins a prize!”

“What’s the prize?” Will asked, knowingly.

“The prize is two tickets to Elton John in Indianapolis!” Dustin pulled out a pair of tickets.

“Holy shit! How did you manage that?!” Max burst out. Dustin pretended to zip his lips shut.

El leaned over to whisper in Max’s ear, “I’m winning us those tickets, I’ve been practicing a ton of games.”

“We’re winning us those tickets. Don’t forget I’m also good at video games.” Max fist-bumped El.

“It’s currently five-something, I am awful at reading analog clocks, and we arrive at the arcade at 7, leaving us an hour and a bit to do other festivities.” Lucas announced. Max was loving everything about this. “But first,” He paused, raising a finger. The doorbell rang. “PIZZA!!”

Lucas and Dustin charged up the stairs, Mike and Will quickly following behind. Max got up to sprint after them, but El grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. Max turned around in confusion, but El’s face seemed serious, so she sat back down.

“Everything okay?” she asked.

“Yeah, but I have something I feel like I need to tell you.” El’s voice was soft, and quiet. Whatever it was, it was important to her.

“Yeah, go ahead. I’m all ears.”

“Okay.” She took a deep breath. “So-”

“Hey, are you guys coming??!!” Lucas yelled from upstairs.

“Just a second!!” Max yelled back. She turned back to El. She stood up.

“Actually, it can wait, I’ll tell you later.” 

“O-okay.” Max was heavily concerned, but dismissed it as they ran up the stairs and snagged slices of pepperoni pizza and cans of root beer.

 

* * * * *

 

After pizza, and Max being given a few Nintendo 64 games from the boys, and a couple flannels and a new skateboard from El, it was 6:30PM. Max had changed into a yellow flannel from the collection El gave her, earning a smile from the brunette.

Everyone was nearing ready to go. The arcade wasn’t a far drive, but each team had to drive there on their own. Max was the last one to be ready to go, opting to run upstairs and grab two cans of soda before running back down. She put on her shoes, ran out to El’s car, and hopped in.

“Alright, let’s go!” She yelled excitedly. El stomped on the gas and flew down the road towards the arcade. (In the excitement, Max may have exaggerated everything to herself and El may have actually driven off in a legal way instead of speeding through suburban Hawkins.)

“Which game should we hit first?” El asked. 

“I’m a master at Dig-Dug, so that’s what I’m gonna hit. What are you best at?” Max replied.

“I’m currently on top for Crazy Taxi, and it has the highest scale for scoring. I’ll head there first.”

“Copy that,” Max said. The conversation paused for a moment, but to Max it felt like an eternity. She struggled to think of what she wanted to say next, until it hit her. “What did you want to tell me earlier?” 

“Oh, uh… it’s not a big deal. Don’t worry about it.” Max worried about it.

“It sounded like a big deal earlier, El.” Max lowered her tone to one of concern than probing.

El sighed. “The thing is… I have feelings for a girl.”

“Oh,” Max replied.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything. You know what, forget it.” El’s voice was jittery and unstable.

“No! No, it’s fine,” Max said. “I also have feelings for a girl.”


	8. Constellations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna dedicate this chapter to Gaps42 because she's really gay and even though we haven't been in touch because of school and such, I know she's reading these and I know she's loving them.

“Wait, what?! You’re… you’re gay too?” El practically shouted. 

“I… I guess,” Max muttered. “Is that bad?”

“No! No, I’m glad.” El was starting to tear up slightly. “Hey, we’re here. Let’s win those tickets, right?”

“Yeah! Let’s kick those stupid boys’ asses.” 

The two girls raced into the building and met up with the rest of the guys, 5 minutes to spare. Mike was holding multiple bags of quarters. He handed a bag to Max, and a second to Dustin.

“This is roughly twenty-five dollars worth of quarters, so there’s no need to conserve them,” He said. 6:59PM. “Are we all ready?” 

Everybody shouted an excited “Hell yeah!” or variation of it. The second hand on the clock hit the ten.

Mike began counting. “Alright… 10… 9… 8…” Max drowned out his counting. She glanced over at El and smiled.

“Let’s win this,” She whispered. El nodded.

“3… 2… 1… GO!!!” Mike shouted. Everyone ran off in various directions, Max sprinting towards the Dig-Dug machine and El to the Crazy Taxi cabinet. Max saw that the high scores on the cabinet had been reset, leading her to assume everyone else was reset. They both locked in their quarters and began playing.

 

* * * * *

 

As if by magic, time flew by in a near instant within the next hour. Max had clocked in top scores on nine cabinets herself, El grabbing another seven. Considering the building housed about twenty cabinets, it was safe to say Max and El destroyed the competition.

Lucas tallied up the final scores. “In third, Dustin and myself. In second, Mike and Will, and in first… Max and El!!!” The boys cheered.

“We won!!!” El cheered. She pulled Max into a hug. Somehow, Max consistently forgets how comfortable El’s hugs are. She hugged her back in an attempt to hide her very pink face. 

“Alright, you guys go head back to Mike’s, I gotta pee first,” Dustin said. 

Max practically pranced out the door, and went to hop in El’s car before realizing, “I left my wallet inside, I need to go grab it.”

She quickly ran back inside and grabbed her wallet off the top of the Pac-Man machine (she put it there as a placeholder to signify she was using the machine while she went to the bathroom), and turned around when she heard something. She turned back and peeked around the corner of the machines to see Lucas and Dustin.

Kissing.

Apparently she audibly gasped, because Lucas whipped his head around. She quickly ducked back behind the machine, but not fast enough.

“Max?” She heard him say. She came out from behind the cabinets, as if she were a child in trouble.

“Yeah?”

“What did you see?” Lucas asked, concerned. 

“Uh… You two, um…” She twiddled her thumbs in an attempt to come up with the very easy words she needed to finish the sentence.

“Ugh, she saw us,” He said to Dustin, before turning back to Max, “Can you not tell the others? Please?”

“Yeah, of course.” Max giggled. “Seriously though, how long did it take? Because you two have been all over each other since I met you, I was wondering if you were-”

“Please go, Max,” Lucas sighed, clearly embarrassed.

“Right sorry.” Max walked out the door and back to El’s car, plopping down onto her seat and clicking her seatbelt in. 

“Ready?” El asked. Max nodded, and El began driving. 

 

* * * * *

 

Max’s curfew was ten thirty, which sucked a lot. When everyone got back to Mike’s house at around 8:30 p.m., Dustin forked over the tickets.

“Hey, Max, mind if I give you a ride home?” El asked.

“I don’t have to be home until ten thirty,” She said.

“Yeah I know, not now.”

Max considered leaving now. She wanted more time alone with El. Even if whatever girl El likes isn’t her, she was still glad to have a friend who was simultaneously into girls and a girl.

“Actually, I’m pretty tired. I’ll take your offer now,” She said.

 

Max dropped her skateboard in the trunk of El’s car. She’d been in this car a lot today. She entered the car, and they began the ride home.

El missed a few turns. “Hey, where are you going? You missed the turnoff!” Max said.

“Shhh, I know what I’m doing. You don’t have to be home until ten thirty, like you said. I’m taking advantage of that.” Max was very confused, until El pulled over. They were in the middle of nowhere, no buildings or trees anywhere near. 

“Have you brought me here to kill me??” Max asked, quite alarmed. El hit the button on the dash to lower the roof of the car.

“No! Why would I do that? Lean back in your seat.” Max obliged, mildly worried. El pulled a the release on her side and dropped her seat back. “I brought you here to stargaze.”

Max did the same, and lied down next to El, staring up at the absolutely beautiful sky. There were more stars than she’d ever seen.

“I had to bring you out here because of all the light pollution in Hawkins. Sorry if it freaked you out,” El uttered.

“It’s beautiful,” Max voiced, starstruck. She laid on her side to face El. “Thank you so much for this.”

El turned her head to Max. “Don’t mention it.”

Even with the endless sea of stars above her, Max got lost in El’s eyes, her freckles, all her features. El rolled onto her side, and seemingly got lost in Max. 

Max cupped El’s cheek with her hand, and kissed her. The kiss was short, merely a peck, but it left Max intoxicated. El adjusted her position and kissed her back, deeper and longer. Max could feel sparks and warmth surrounding them as they kissed. Eventually, they both pulled away, and giggled.

“Oh, fuck,” Max said. “What does this mean for us?”

“I think it means you’re my girlfriend,” El answered.

 

“I think I’m okay with that.”


	9. Return

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's Sad Time

She missed first period. She couldn’t bring herself to get out of bed the following morning. Even though her life was at a high point, with a new girlfriend and an Elton John concert on the horizon, she couldn’t seem to enjoy it all. She was emotionally sloth.

Max ate breakfast at ten in the morning. She could hear the bell for second period ringing in her mind. Her hair was a mess she couldn’t be bothered to fix. She only got out of bed because her stomach was begging like a cat to be fed something.

Her anxiety about the future returned. Not as much about the apocalypse, but the end of high school loomed. Her life ahead of her and she was terrified to reach out and grab it. The ends of relationships with close friends came into focus. 

She dumped the remaining half of her bowl of cereal into the toilet and flushed it down, and crawled back into bed.

She just wanted to sleep forever. Death became less of a fear and more of a desire. She drew her legs to her chest. She didn’t want to do this anymore. Tears flooded her eyes.

Why couldn’t she be happy?

…

The doorbell rang. 

“Go away,” She thought.

It rang twice again.

“Go away,” She mumbled.

It continued to ring. 

“GO AWAY!!” She shouted. 

The ringing stopped. The door opened. Footsteps echoed down the hallway to her bedroom.

“Go away…” Her voice was rough.

“Max?” El’s soft voice was muffled behind the door. Max did not respond. El slowly opened the door. “Are you okay?”

“Go away,” she begged. 

“Why? What’s wrong?”

“Just leave me alone, El.”

“Max…”

“Just LEAVE ME ALONE!!”

El stood in the doorway. Max rolled over to see her. Max’s face was angry, like a wounded animal. Tears stained her cheeks. 

“No.”

“What?”

“I’m going to sit here and wait, until you can tell me you’re okay. I’m not going to leave you alone.”

Max gave up and rolled back over. “Fine, do what you want.”

 

* * * * *

 

Max woke up to El wrapped around her. El was also seemingly asleep. She decided not to move, fearful of waking the taller girl up. 

Of course, El woke up anyway.

“Hey Ellie…”

El was still not fully awake, and forced out a very sleepless “Hiii…..”

“Thank you for staying with me.”

“Not a problem,” El groaned. She clearly wanted to go back to sleep really badly. Max rolled over to kiss her on the cheek, and then put her head back down and closed her eyes again. She wasn’t perfect, but it was nice knowing El was there for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a shorter one, but I really wanted to get this chapter out faster, and didn't feel like it would work to extend it beyond where it ended.  
> Hopefully it's still good!


End file.
